august hauls (beauty & planner)

hi guys! just a few items this month, didn't go too crazy especially with the anticipation of a bunch of september releases!! (and not to mention, another paid off car!!!) ~Lin-chan ^.~

beauty haul:
trader joe's tea tree oil
ulta: cnd weekly vinylux nail polish in grapefruit sparkle (swatch post), essence princess mascara set, i love extreme volume mascara
sephora (multiple purchases): bobbi brown shimmer wash eyeshadow in beige, nars dual intensity eyeshadow in rigel, ciate mini paint pots in goal digger, deco delight, cupcake queen, belif aqua bomb sheet mask, sephora collection charcoal nose strip. freebies with points and codes: too faced hangover rx, clinique take the day off micellar cleansing wipes, urban decay all nighter matte liquid foundation in 3.5 (looks like it's a bit too pink on me), makeup forever rouge artist creme lipstick in C211, ultra hd invisible cover foundation in Y225.

beige, rigel, C211, MUFE Y225, UD 3.5 (this is a little too pink for me..)

makeup forever lipstick in C211

mac: star trek collection lipstick in where no man has gone before, and sample mascara in false lashes extreme black
-- none of these photos do this lipstick justice. it's such a pretty sheer pink with gold shimmer. i loveeeeee it!

planner haul:
amazon: paper mate flair pens, erin condren mini snap in bookmarks & designer washi tape

august favorites & regrets

hi guys! it's time for another favorites! not too many things this time, but i've been using them a lot this month!! ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

top - bottom: brazilian tan, purely naked, beige

brazilan tan, dangerous affair

1. revlon super lustrous lipstick in brazilian tan -- i've finally rescued this lipstick from the depths of my closet. a couple years ago when this lipstick came out, i fell in love with it and probably mentioned it on here at that time. anyway, i've rediscovered it and am super happy to have it back in my life!
• as a random side note, i thought this lipstick was limited edition when it came out, but apparently it's on ulta's website, so idk.
2. ciate london paint pot in dangerous affair -- as i've said many many times. i am not a red person, not so much for lipstick or nails. and what is this?! blasphemy! i really like this color and i really enjoy this formula. i applied this polish twice, back to back this month. this polish legit lasted me 5 days both times before there was any major peeling. that like never happens to me anymore. 12 hours. that's how most polishes have been lasting me lately. this is awesome! i'm super impressed and interested in buying other shades. 
3. makeup geek eyeshadow in purely naked -- this is such a great all-over lid shade for minimal makeup days! it's a nude-y peach shade with a slight shimmer.
4. bobbi brown shimmer wash eyeshadow in beige -- this is not very amazing at first glance or swatched. but on the eyes, how it catches the light, and paired with a great crease color, is such a pretty and effortless eye look. that i've been using it almost every day since i got it.

random favorites: 

1. ReLife anime/manga -- so i totally forgot to mention this last month, but the first season of relife anime is online...and omg. it is amazingness. two gripes: sequence of events for some things wasn't 100% true to the manga (but at least they were still included! - unlike a lot of anime), and second: it was too short. season 2 needs to come out like yesterday. not only that, but the manga is still amazing by the way, and continues to impress. i can't wait to see what happens next!
2. gyakuten saiban (phoenix wright: ace attorney) anime -- omg they made the first two games (if not more, as it's still airing!) into an anime. loooooooooveeeeee! the things that throw me off are that their japanese names aren't as cool, and the subtitlers are inconsistent using their american names vs the japanese ones. but whatever, i love it. this is one of my favorite game series, and the next edition (spirit of justice) is slated for US release in a couple weeks, so excite!

meh:
makeup forever ink liner -- this is a gorgeous eyeliner. it's super black, dries down matte.... but that's as far as it goes for me. i think i've mentioned before that my eyes get itchy and watery or i tend to rub my eyes a lot..... well this stuff runs. and smears. and transfers. all. over. there was one day that i had a smear line from the outer corner of my eye to pretty close to my temple, and this was maybe 4 hours after application. another day, i mysteriously got a huge line across the center of my lid. i swear it wasn't there when i left the house, but when i got home..there it was! in short, if you're like me, don't get this product. but if you don't have any of those issues/habits, this is a really great liner!

august empties

hi guys!! can you believe it's already september now?? this is crazy, the year's flyin on by! i actually ended up using up a lot of stuff this month. anyway, here ya go! ~Lin-chan ^.~

 

1. sonia kashuk eye makeup remover
2. simple cleansing wipes
3. aveeno positively smooth shave gel
4. tony moly tea tree sheet mask
5. body shop tea tree oil
6. maybelline fit me matte + poreless foundation in 120
7. beif true cream aqua bomb
8. lypsyl lip balm
9. tree hut sugar scrub in pomegranate acai
10. clinique take the day off micellar towelettes -- redeemed sephora points for this guy, and it was totally not worth it. these smell super weird, were way dry, and were only ok at removing makeup. supposedly you can use this on your eyes too, but i didn't think they were saturated enough to even get my usual eye makeup off.
    repurchase? no
11. mystic divine luminous shine hair mask -- this is an ok hair mask. the thing that really annoyed me about this product was the consistency of it. if you accidentally dropped clumps onto the bottom of your shower, it will sit there as a semi-solid blob. it does not rinse down the drain well in this state, also it clumps up in the hair catch for the drain... but if you smooth it onto your hair, it will rinse out pretty well, and it makes your hair feel fairly nice afterward.
    repurchase? no
12. eva nyc hungry hair oil treatment -- got this in an ipsy bag. while i liked this oil for how it made my hair feel, i'm not sure i'd buy a full size of it. the scent is nice, but after continuous use, i don't like it.
    repurchase? nah
13. schwartzkopf diamond color & radiance shampoo and conditioner -- while i liked using these, i'm not sure i'd repurchase them since i'm happy with what i regularly use. i'm not as huge into the shampoo as it made my hair a bit oily after about 10 hours, but the conditioner was actually pretty good.
    repurchase? nah
14. biore baking soda pore cleanser -- i really enjoyed this face wash. it was non-irritating, had little smell, and i liked the light exfoliation it gave.
    repurchase? yes
15. soap and glory sugar crush body scrub -- while this had an amazing scent, the scrub itself is not for me. i've mentioned this tons of times - i like abrasive scrubs. this didn't feel like it was doing anything.
    repurchase? no
16. sephora collection shea lip mask -- i never tried other lip masks before so i can't really compare, but i think i'd prefer others over this because it was difficult to unfold, and it had a slit for the lips -- where most others i've seen are completely solid. my lips felt a little bit plumped but not super moisturized afterward. after the serum fully absorbed, my lips felt dry and i applied some balm. i will say that for the day or so afterward, there was no flaking, which is a plus.
    repurchase? yes
17. sephora collection rose lip mask -- my lips did not feel anything different after using this one. which is strange because it's supposed to be moisturizing...or maybe i'm not seeing what's so great about it.. as a plus though, it does not smell like rose -- which i was slightly unsure about but alas.
    repurchase? no
18. tony moly brightening face mask -- this smells like lemons and it's so good! it's borderline kitchen lemon cleaner scent, but in a good way.. i think the scent makes it more enjoyable since it's so fresh. the mask itself feels very cooling and refreshing. i do think this made my face a bit lighter, which is kind of cool, but not something that's super important to me right now,
    repurchase? yes
19. tony moly panda's dream eye patch -- omg i couldn't help but laugh the entire time i had these on. they're black and make you look like a panda! so funny! i definitely feel like the under eye area felt much better and moisturized afterward. this is a bit different from the my little pet in that those are cooling and depuffing.
    repurchase? maybe
20. volumedic shampoo -- i really enjoyed the scent this has and the cooling, tingly sensation it gives the scalp--which hopefully means its working! and i also like how it is basically like a clarifying shampoo, making my hair and scalp feel clean and product-free.
    repurchase? already did
21. vitabath lime citron basil -- while i enjoyed this scent and formula, i'm not sure i'd get it again. the scent is pleasant, but i feel like i'd easily get very tired of the scent.
    repurchase? maybe
22. vaseline intensive care advanced repair lotion -- this is a great lotion. i'm trying to decide if i like it more than the aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. whenever i'd use this, my skin felt better and very moisturized. (i typically have dry skin everywhere but my face, and i only moisturize about once a week.)
    repurchase? yes!
23. nyx microbrow pencil in taupe -- i feel like i went through this super fast, and that's most of the reason why i'm not interested in buying another. also, i really do like the it cosmetics brow power pencil.
    repurchase? nah
24. sephora collection charcoal nose strip -- this was only ok. i didn't like the lightly floral scent it had, and it only was ok at pulling stuff out of my nose. i feel like any cheaper drugstore nose strips do the trick much better than this one.
    repurchase? nah

[not pictured]

1. maybelline baby skin instant pore eraser
2. shea moisture african black soap (bar) -- while this was a really good soap, i'm not sure i'd get it again because of the particles in it. while slightly abrasive, and not super plentiful, as they wore off, they'd get stuck in my drain. so that wasn't super cool. also, this soap easily gets stuck to whatever surface it's on, so i suggest using one of those $2 'not mushy' soap saver thingies they sell at walmart these days. it's made life easier!
   repurchase? nah

notd: cnd grapefruit sparkle

hi guys!! i recently acquired this cnd vinylux weekly polish in grapefruit sparkle!! yayyy! a long ways back, i got this as a gel manicure color and i loved it! but it was so hard to find, and i recently saw this on ulta's website and went ahead and ordered it. i have a couple gripes about this polish, or i didn't apply this carefully enough, but it's kind of streaky and patchy. it didn't self-level super great. so up close, it looks kind of meh. but from afar...it's so pretteh! it's kind of similar to opi princesses rule! , which i also love, but this is not quite as pink. ~Lin-chan ^.~
applied 2 coats over nails inc nailkale, and topped with american classics gelous gel coat.

erin condren hourly life planner - my august

hi guys! it's that time again! well, technically august isn't over yet, but according to the page layout in my planner, it is! anyway, i hope you guys enjoy seeing what i was up to this month. ~Lin-chan ^.~

monthly calendar spread: i'm completely loving these spreads from That's The Plan. they're super amazing quality and beautiful! as you may notice in my sidebar, those sharpie colored pens i got are kind of lame, aside from the pink and obviously black ones. you can barely read the blue and green ones, and the peach is only ok...

week 1: didn't know what else to do with that watermelon flag..so there ya go!

week 2: with the flooding coming our way, we were advised to stay home on Friday.

week 3: with all the flooding over the weekend, we were advised to stay at home on Monday. one of the guys from our office quit on wenesday, so we all went out to lunch for him.

week 4: there is so much that happened this week. we paid off teh paul's car after just 13 months! the new school year started, the new phoenix wright game demo came out, mac's star trek collection was online, and another coworker's last day was this week. also, for those wondering, PA is project assessment which is basically some paperwork we need to complete as part of a progress report to our managers and for promotions.

notes page: this page is kind of boring this month. just me playing with some of my "football" washi tapes. the one on the bottom is kind of weird patterned though. i definitely like my 'tiger stripe' one.

bread making!

hi guys! it's been a while since i've said or done much about baking. working 45 hours a week with poor sleep quality (work-related dreams--bleh!), i haven't had the time or energy to do any baking. this month, since there has been a lot of craziness with the flooding, i decided to bake bread to use up some extra ingredients we had. now i'm not master chef or baker, but here are a few of my tips and tricks on how i make these bread recipes. also, consider that i began making these in a small college apartment with little kitchen space, so these tips also include ways i reduce the number of dirty dishes. ~Lin-chan ^.~

oatmeal wheat bread (click for recipe) -- this is actually a pretty easy recipe if you have a stand mixer. for this recipe, i like using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. the following is how i generally make this recipe.

1. use a glass measuring cup for the milk. heat milk in a small to medium pot on the stove. 
2. while milk heats, measure all of the ingredients for the flour mixture into the stand mixer bowl and stir them a bit.
3. prepare remaining oat-mixture ingredients: stir in oats and butter (it can melt in the pot!). lightly oil your measuring cup before adding honey (to make it easier to remove) and pour into oat mixture. 
4. heat water in glass measuring cup (from milk) in microwave for about 1 minute. add yeast and honey, and allow to stand 5 minutes or until very foamy. gently stir into to oat mixture.
5. gradually add oat mixture into flour mixture. when mixture becomes less sticky, i stop the mixer, flour my hands and add some flour into the bowl and knead the bread in the bowl (instead of worrying about cleaning and using the counter). after kneading, place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover in plastic wrap and a towel, and place on top of refrigerator. this is actually a fairly warm place, if you don't have the space to do this, a low temp oven should do the trick (minus the towel!).
6. after about an hour or two, or doubled in size, i knead the dough again, inside the bowl. then divide the dough (if i'm making two loaves) and place into buttered loaf pan(s). cover with towel and allow to rise again for another hour.
1. the loaf pans i use are 9x4 pullman loaf pans by usa pans
2. tip: when you finish a stick of butter, fold and save the paper wrapping in the fridge since there's still a bit of butter on it, then use the paper to butter your dishes when baking!
7. preheat oven. i generally skip the step about putting an egg wash and oats on top of the bread, since it's kind of a waste of an egg in my opinion, and the oats on top get kind of messy when you go to cut into it. then bake & enjoy! this bread is more of a snack-size than sandwich, but you made it, eat it how you'd like!

banana [nut] bread (click for recipe) -- this is an extremely easy recipe that anyone can make. say you bought too many bananas and they're too ripe to eat and about ready to be tossed? why waste them, when you can make a super quick and easy banana bread with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen! this recipe is so simple, i'm not listing out everything like before, but as a tip: use either a fork or a potato masher to mash the bananas!

august 2016: sephora play!

hi guys! this month's box arrived a bit later than anticipated. with all of the flooding that happened last weekend, delivery services were delayed in our area. but i has it now, and i'm so excite to try it out! (theme: the eye openers) ~Lin-chan ^.~

1. lancome energie de vie the smoothing & glow boosting liquid moisturizer (.16oz--mini, $55 for 1.69oz [$5.21]) -- i don't really understand this product. its a clear liquid gel that kind of absorbs quickly but not really.. then i don't really get the 'glow boosting' aspect of it, like what? and lastly, the smoothing..the skin does feel smooth but i don't feel any moiturization happening. also, it has a very faint floral scent to it.
   repurchase? no
2. algenist complete eye renewal balm (.23oz--mini, ret. $68 for .5oz [$31.28]) -- a long ways back, i'd recieved a few samples of this and tried them out, and thought they were ok. i think i still prefer the tarte maracuja eye cream because it feels like it helps my under eye a bit better than this product.
   repurchase? nah
3. makeup forever artist shadow in I544 pink granite (.02oz--mini, ret. $21 for .07oz [$6]) -- i love this shadow! this is one of the shades included in the artist palette volume 1 – nudes, and if i recall correctly, this palette was in a favorites post of past! i'm going to give this away to a friend to try, because it'll be a while before i need a new one of these.
   repurchase? yes
4. sephora collection contour eye pencil 12hr wear waterproof in love affair (.017oz--mini, ret. $10 for .04oz [$4.25]) -- as soon as i swatched this, i knew this was a dupe for urban decay's rockstar. i love rockstar, and this is a dead-on color match. i can't say much about the lasting power because i'm not a huge fan of the sephora liners, but i'm willing to give this one a shot.
   repurchase? undecided
5. urban decay perversion mascara (.1oz--mini, ret. $10) -- you guys know i love this mascara!
   repurchase? yes!
6. clean reserve warm cotton (sample, ret. $90 for 3.4oz) -- it was very interesting when i opened this package. the bag inside smelled nice and fresh.... like laundry.. or shampoo. i'm not sure why you'd want to wear such a scent (smell like laundry!), and teh paul was joking that it'd be nice to spray on our pillows or something.
   repurchase? probably not
7. 'coupon' for an extra 50 points on the next in-store purchase

approximate product value: ~$57

august 2016 ipsy bag!

hi guys! i'm super surprised that my august IPSY BAG* has arrived so fast! (theme: sugar highness) i got the tracking email yesterday and it said it'd come friday.... yeah. freaking awesome. ~Lin-chan ^.~

here's my impressions:

1. ciaté london paint pot in dangerous affair (13.5ml--full size, ret. $17) -- i'm not a red person, but i really likes it. only issue is that it's a little patchy and doesn't self-level quite well enough for me. maybe i wasn't being careful enough? either way, i likes it so far!
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe other shades
2. it cosmetics no tug waterproof  gel eyeliner (.012oz--mini, ret. $22 for .017oz [$15.53]) -- so despite its sharpenable appearance, this is a twist up pencil, no sharpening. this glides on super smooth and super black. but it doesn't seem like it'll last for very long. waiting a few minutes after applying it to my hand, it rubs and smears away very easily... idk about this one either guys. 
• likelihood to repurchase: nah
3. peter lamas supreme radiance complexion booster (.34oz--mini, ret. $44 for 1oz [$14.96]) -- what is this? it smells so weird--like expired foundation or something, has a dark tint, blends away to almost nothing and has a soft and silky feel. i'm very confused, but i can't see people buying this. no way.
• likelihood to repurchase: no
4. winky lux diamond complexion powder in light (3g--mini, ret. $20 for 8.5g [$7.06]) -- ish sho tiny! it does seem to have a little color, but blends out pretty smoothly. i'll have to give this a go.
• likelihood to repurchase: probably not
5. this works in transit camera close-up (20ml--mini, ret. $55 for 40ml [$27.50]) -- first off: what's with this scent?? it's like herby floral bleh. and i don't want it on my face. secondly, it only feels ok. i'm not so sure how this'll be as a primer, it's only a little moisturizing..not really.. and a mask? idk about that-a one.
• likelihood to repurchase: no
6. blue michelle phan's drawing ipsy bag -- it's cute i guess? i'm really confused by the random strand of hair across the mouth..but whatever. it's pretty and i like the colors.
7. card with company info/discount codes (some codes are case sensitive)
1. us.ciatelondon.com: 30% off purchase, code: IPSTER (exp. 9/30/16)
2. peterlamas.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsyaug16 (exp. 9/30/16)
3. winkylux.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsyaugust (exp. 9/30/16)
4. thisworks.com: 20% off purchase, code: IPSYAUG (exp. 9/30/16)
5. rodial.co.uk/us: free gift with $70 purchase, code: ipsygift (exp. 9/10/16)
6. paulaschoice.com: 20% off purchase + free shipping, code: ipsy2016 (exp. 10/31/16)
7. marula.com: 25% off purchase + free shipping at $50, code: IPSY2016 (exp. 9/30/16)
8. beautyforreal.com: 20% off purchase (excludes gift sets), code: ipsy20 (exp. 9/30/16)
9. josiemarancosmetics.com: 20% off purchase (excludes 'good buys' and gifts), code: josieipsy (exp. 9/30/16)
10. nyxcosmetics.com: 20% off born to glow liquid illuminator, code: ipsyglow (exp. 9/30/16)
11. dermelect.com: 20% off purchase, code: ispy-20 (exp. 9/30/16)
12. cosbellus.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsy3008 (exp. 9/30/16)
13. sympanbeauty.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsy30 (exp. 9/30/16)
14. lordandberry.com: 25% off 20100 crayon lipsticks, code: ipsy20100 (exp. 8/31/16)
15. lordandberry.com: 15% off purchase, code: ipsy15k (exp. 9/30/16)
16. pacificabeauty.com: 20% off purchase, code: sundreams20 (exp. 9/30/16)
17. lusetabeauty.com: 15% off purchase, code: IPSY15 (exp. 9/30/16)
18. jerseyshoresun.com: 50% off purchase, code: ipsy50 (exp. 9/30/16)
19. trustfundbeauty.com: 35% off purchase, code: ipsy35 (exp.9/30/16)
20. nomadmakeup.com: 20% off purchase + free shipping, code: ipsy20fs (exp. 9/30/16)
21. beaugachis.com: 25% off purchase, code: beautifulipster50 (exp. 9/30/16)
22. ofracosmetics.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsy30 (exp. 9/30/16)
23. coverfx.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy2016 (exp. 8/31/16)
24. jellypongpong.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsy30 (exp. 9/30/16)
25. olivenaturalbeauty.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy (exp. 9/30/16)

approximate product value: ~$82

diamond complexion powder, gel liner, in transit camera close-up, supreme radiance complexion booster

dangerous affair

*Affiliate Link.

blog update!

hi guys! it's been a while since i really said anything about making any changes to this blog..and i hadn't really thought of a need(?) until recently. as you may have noticed, i opted into google adsense for the blog. so for the time being, there are ad banners located on the sidebar and beneath posts. i hope you guys respect my decision to do this in an effort to offset the annual cost for the domain -- which isn't much, but every little bit counts! i'm not forcing you to look at or click on any of the ads. and for all i care, you can utilize certain browser extensions. just sayin'. anyway, i hope you're having a great day and will continue to visit! ~Lindsay-chan ^.~